Stocking Stuffers That You WON'T Throw Away in January
Stockings have always been my favorite part of Christmas morning and I’ve passed this love along to London. I don’t like buying junk toys that will be thrown away soon so I put a lot of thought into what I fill their stockings with. By this time of year, we’re still eating Halloween candy so I do my best to not fill it with candy unless I can find some that matches our travels from the year. My girls will typically find chapsticks and new underwear and socks in their stockings but the toys will vary each year. This is what they’ll find this year.
ART SUPPLIES
Both of my kids are obsessed with art supplies. My friend Ashley created this Princess coloring book and sells it on Amazon so I purchased one for Millie. London loves to read and create her own comic books so I grabbed a Create Your Own Comic Book book and I liked how the pages are set up. I know she’ll blow through this quickly!
My girls tend to leave markers uncapped, drying out, all around the house, in their backpacks, etc so I typically buy them at Daiso so that I don’t have to spend a ton of money on them. However, these fun double ended markers are going to be a hit with both girls! If you have a Flying Tiger nearby, this is a great spot for stocking stuffers! I grabbed a ton of journals, fun erasers and pens.
SMALL FIGURES
Bluey is a favorite around here right now so we grabbed some characters for Millie’s stocking. Little People have been a staple in our household for years now and the Princesses have all shown up in Millie’s stocking at some point. I love when you don’t have to buy a whole playset just to get the characters because all of our tiny characters get played with in the Barbie house, the doll house, the Paw Patrol vehicles and the Little People play sets. My girls also love “surprise” toys so LOL dolls and these tiny Barbie Land vehicles and mini Barbie Land reveal dolls will be in their stockings. I stock up on LOL dolls throughout the months when I find them discounted.
ACCESSORIES
London love crafts and has recently decided to actually wear all the jewelry she owns, so I found this cool Morse Code bracelet making kit. Initially I thought it would be so fun to get her a morse code necklace or bracelet but when I spotted this kit, I knew it would be something she’d enjoy. I also like that it comes with 4 different metal colors instead of one so she can mix and match as she pleases. Fuzzy hair clips and fun hair ties will also be in her stocking. Remember in the 90’s how stick on earrings were a thing? I found some and will be putting them in Millie’s stocking this year since her ears still aren’t pierced.
BOOKS
London has a kindle so books don’t usually show up in her stocking but if you’re looking for new book recommendations, she’s still into graphic novels like Enola Holmes, Anne of Green Gables (free with Kindle Unlimited!), Diary of a Wimpy Kid and all of the ones by Megan Wagner Lloyd. Buying her a Kindle was one of the best decisions we ever made! We pay for the Amazon Kids+ subscription which allows her access to thousands of free books which is great because it opens her up to book she may not have chosen for herself.
If you already pay for the Amazon Kids+ subscription, I don’t think it’s wholly necessary to buy a kids version of the kindle. Yes, it comes with a case, is ad free and has a worry free guarantee, but the regular kindle is almost no different. The ads are only displayed on the sleep screen (no, you can’t accidentally purchase an ad book) and you can purchase kindle cases separately.
GAMES
We bought one of these IQ games for traveling and it’s great at keeping the kids entertained in the car, on the bus, on the airplane and in the hotel room. I also love that it’s small and lightweight so it doesn’t take up a ton of space or weight. Pokemon cards are still a big thing for London, so a new small pack will end up in her stocking. Someone brought this axe throwing game to Brandon’s unit Halloween party and it was a hit! It’s too big for a stocking but a great gift idea from Santa! I like that this one folds up smaller as well, and the axes were lightweight enough for Millie to throw.
HARRY POTTER
The last two years have been big Harry Potter years for us. London has finally read and gotten in Harry Potter and Millie claims to like the characters too! When we were at Universal Studios in September I snagged a pen shaped like Hermione’s wand to put in London’s stocking but I also found this set on Amazon! This is a great price, I’m pretty sure I paid more for one pen than this entire set costs. We bought the chocolate frogs when we were at USJ and I found butter beer jelly beans for their stockings. In the past I’ve also done chocolate Harry Potter wands. This is pretty much the only candy that will show up in our stockings this year. I also found Harry Potter hot chocolate as well.
NECESSITIES
Somehow when Christmas rolls around, we realize that none of the girls pajamas fit anymore. We’ve already busted out our Christmas pajamas for the year but I grabbed a 2-pack of pajama gowns for their stockings. (Linked is similar, but not the same as I purchased ours in the Base Exchange.) Like most Koreans, my kids are obsessed with Crocs but they are not great winter shoes, in my motherly opinion. We found fur lined ones that I know they’ll love! Hopefully this will keep those little feeties warm! As London is coming into her pre-teen years, she has decided she wants “to do skincare” - her exact words. I don’t want to mess with her beautiful young skin so I grabbed the CeraVe AM facial moisturizing lotion. It has SPF in it so it’s doing double duty without harming her skin. (If you know of something better for a 10+ year old’s skin, please let me know!) The LANEIGE lip sleeping mask will also be in her stocking.
PRO TIP: Unwrap anything you can before putting it in the stocking, this way your living room floor won’t be covered in trash on Christmas morning. That is my least favorite part! Anything that needs the obvious packaging, stays packaged, like LOL doll balls.
Are you a stocking stuffer lover or a present lover? Let me know in the comments!
